Good, homely, troublesome or improving? Historical geographies of drinking places, c. 1850–1950

Abstract

Abstract This paper surveys historical geographies of drinking places designed for the consumption of alcohol between about 1850 and 1950, covering work published in English on sites in Europe, Russia, the Americas, and parts of Britain's empire. Five key aspects of drinking places are identified. The paper first considers them as significant social spaces associated with positive conceptions of both the public sphere and public space before exploring the ways in which drink became a spatial problem for contemporary observers, both in terms of their internal design and layout, and in their arrangements and concentrations in space. Histories and historical geographies of workers and patrons in these sites then suggest that the spatial problems associated with drink might also be classed, gendered, racialized, and sexualized. The last two sections of the paper review work on aspects of drinking places shared across many different social and geographical contexts: licensing and the provision of highly regulated ‘improved' sites for the consumption of alcohol. Similarities across many different contexts may reflect common social patterns or the development of shared strategies for reform. The conclusion suggests a few areas that might be developed.

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